


The Stag and the Huntsman

by ICanSeeClearlyNow



Series: Fairy Tale retellings [2]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fairy Tale Curses, Fairy Tale Logic, Fairy Tale Retellings, Fairy Tale Style, Happy Ending, He has a rough time, M/M, Magic, Non-Graphic Violence, Poor Yuri Plisetsky, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, and has a younger brother, evil magician is evil, mentions blood, probably - it's a fine line, seriously this bad guy is creepy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-24
Updated: 2018-03-04
Packaged: 2019-03-23 12:27:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13787775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ICanSeeClearlyNow/pseuds/ICanSeeClearlyNow
Summary: Yuri was happy and loved his older brother Victor until the age of 4 when a magician decided to take undeserved revenge on Victor by cursing Yuri, in the process removing his soulmark and condemning him to spend the daylight hours as an animal, living in hope that one day his curse might be broken.'“So defiant. Well, if I cannot have it willingly given, then you can spend the rest of your life wishing you had been more generous.” The man stepped forward and grabbed Yuri out of Victor’s arms. The little boy was crying now in earnest.'





	1. The Stag

**Author's Note:**

> This is a sequel to my story [The Glass Coffin](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13007799). It starts before The Glass Coffin and finishes after. I didn't want to repeat myself too much so I would strongly advise reading that one before reading this otherwise you may get a little confused. Although I apologise profusely for the poor quality of that first one. I'm much happier with this one.
> 
> I hope you enjoy and I'm very open to constructive criticism.

_Once upon a time there was a loving family. The Duke and Duchess had a lovely young son with long silver hair.  His hair was so beautiful and unusual that it was never cut. He had beautiful blue eyes and a lively, loving personality. The couple did not want their son to grow up alone and so they tried for many years to have a second child. Great was their joy and the joy of all who knew them when a baby boy was born 12 years after the first._

Victor fell in love with his baby brother at first sight. The baby was clear-sighted and intelligent with stunning large green eyes and blond hair. As he grew he came to adore his older brother and followed him everywhere. The servants on the estate loved the boys and spoiled them impartially and frequently.

On the day Victor turned sixteen, the family held a large party to officially introduce Victor to society and celebrate his birthday. The young Lord was excited and nervous but determined to show the world that he was a suitable heir to the Duchy. Victor’s valet Chris straightened his jacket, tucked a few stray hairs into Victor’s queue and patted Victor on the shoulder.

“Very handsome if I say so myself, my Lord.” Chris winked at Victor.

Victor grinned back at Chris in the mirror, “How many times do I have to ask you to call me Victor, my friend.”

“Ah, but after tonight you will properly be introduced to society and I’ll have to remember to be straight-laced and boring in public.” Chris said.

“You? I don’t know how you’re going to cope. I give you 3 months before you crack.” Victor turned round and pulled Chris into a hug. “Thank you Chris. You’re a loyal and true friend. Don’t wait up; it’s probably going to be a long evening. I can get myself to bed you know.”

“Good luck Victor.”

As he left his room to go down to the party, Victor heard the pattering of small feet and a little voice trying and failing to whisper.

“Vitya! Vitya!”

Victor turned, crouched down and opened his arms as Yuri flew into them for a hug.

“Yuri? Have you escaped from Nurse again? You know you’re not allowed downstairs tonight. I have go and be grown-up now that I’m 16.” Yuri’s mouth turned down and he stamped his little foot.

“I want to be grown up too! I’m going to be five soon.” Victor smiled and gripped Yuri’s shoulders.

“You are very grown-up, but you have only just turned 4.”

“4 and three quarters!” Yuri corrected indignantly.

“Unfortunately other grown-ups don’t think like that. If it was up to me then you could be with me all night, but it’s not.”

“I hate grown-ups!”

“Oh Yuri! I’m grown-up now, do you hate me too?” Yuri’s face crumpled, and he looked utterly miserable. He shook his head violently.

“I know, tomorrow when Nurse allows you to come down you can spend the whole day with me. How does that sound?” Yuri sullenly agreed and trudged back up the stairs with his shoulders bowed, a picture of misery. Victor hid a smile behind his hand and turned back down the stairs.  

Several hours later and well into the small hours of the morning Victor had danced with the all required number of partners, making sure that no one was left out. He had made polite conversation with the dozens of relatives and been introduced to several important politicians. People were finally starting to leave and Victor made sure that his smile was plastered on his face until the last guest had departed then wished his parents good night before heading upstairs.

Victor opened the door to his rooms sighing in relief and scrubbing at his face as he walked in. He reached up and took out the various bands and pins holding his hair in place, there was no need for a silver wig when your hair was silver already. Frowning he thought back to one politician in particular who had stuck in Victor’s mind. He had talked politely and seemed completely normal but Victor felt that the man was maintaining a conversation with Victor’s hair more than Victor himself. Shrugging, Victor dismissed the man, an unimportant puzzle he could think about some other time.

~

Several days after the party, Victor was playing with Yuri, sword fighting with toy wooden swords when a servant arrived with a summons from his parents.

Yuri followed him into the room where his parents were sitting with a man Victor recognised as the politician from the party who was obsessed with Victor’s hair, subconsciously Victor played with the end of his pony tail that reached over his shoulder and a long way down his front. The man was dressed in a purple suit and was resting his hands on top of a cane in front of him, his face was sharp and as he turned to look at the boys entering the room he smiled. Victor gripped Yuri’s hand tightly and pulled him closer, there was something about that smile Victor didn’t like.

The Duchess motioned for Victor to come forward. She held out her hand to Victor and when he took it to kiss the back, she smiled, pulling him closer and gently pushed up his sleeve to show the soulmark. “As you can see My Lord, our son Victor has a soulmate. It would be totally wrong to go against what fate has ordained.”

A cloud momentarily passed over the man’s face, but it was so fast Victor thought he had imagined it.

“I see. Well in that case there is no more to be said in the matter.” The man changed the subject back to more ordinary matters. Victor, still slightly confused, begged to be excused and left the room with Yuri. They went back to playing with the wooden swords, but Victor was distracted until Yuri managed to stab him in a sensitive place, bringing him to the ground groaning.

“Vitya? Vitya? Are you OK?” Yuri dropped his sword with a clatter.

“No. You’ve killed me Yuri, I’ll never walk again.”

“Vitya!”

Victor could hear the slight panic in his brother’s voice and took pity on him. He turned his face and grinned at Yuri, realising his mistake when he had to fend off the rain of tiny fists that fell on him. They both stilled when the door to the nursery opened and instead of Yuri’s nurse the politician walked in. 

“What are you doing here?” Victor demanded.

“My, my, is that any way to speak to an important person such as myself your Lordship?” The man’s voice was laced with sarcasm and Victor found himself tightening his hands into fists at the man’s oily voice.

Victor stood up and pushed Yuri behind him as he faced the wizard. “What do you want with us and why did my parents let you up here?”

“How long is it since you cut your hair my boy?”

“What’s that got to do with anything?” Victor said, swallowing and raising his chin defiantly, he pushed Yuri away behind him trying to get the youngster as far away from the creep as possible, but Yuri clung onto Victor’s leg. The man walked towards Victor swinging his cane idly. He quickly brought his hand up and gripped Victor’s chin painfully with one hand while the other hand swept round with the cane and grasped Victor’s long hair. Victor thought for a moment that he was going to pull, but instead the man stroked the hair gently and looked avariciously down at the length. His grip tightened and he looked Victor straight in the eyes.

“So valuable.” The man crooned. “So beautiful. I want your hair boy. Give it to me.” Victor’s eyes widened.

“No.” Victor squeezed out. The man released Victor, roughly pushing him away. He stumbled as Yuri was still clinging onto his leg and they both tumbled to the floor. “Give it to me Victor, or you’ll regret this day for the rest of your life.”

“No! You have no right to demand anything of me.”

“So defiant. Well, if I cannot have it willingly given, then you can spend the rest of your life wishing you had been more generous.” The man stepped forward and grabbed Yuri out of Victor’s arms. The little boy was crying now in earnest. Victor launched himself at the man to try to grab at Yuri, but found that he couldn’t move. He strained every muscle in his body to little effect and the man just laughed. Victor could feel tears running down his face and Yuri’s struggles were getting weaker. The man, or magician as Victor now realised what he was facing, looked down at little Yuri and gripped the boy’s wrist. Grinning viciously his hand glowed, Yuri screamed and fainted. The man dropped him on the floor, glanced at Victor and walked away humming to himself.

As he reached the door it was flung violently back, knocking the man down. There was the sound of breaking glass and a green haze surrounded the magician; Victor could suddenly move again and threw himself on top of Yuri, dragging him away. He looked at the door where his furious father was standing, clutching a sword in one hand.

“What did he do Victor?” He held the sword pointing steadily at the magician. “Don’t worry, he won’t be able to do any magic now he’s been dusted.”

“He did something to Yuri father and he fainted.” Victor’s father stepped over to the boys and examined his small son. When he turned over Yuri’s wrist he growled in fury, the boy’s soulmark had disappeared. Hearing a movement from near the door he dropped Yuri’s wrist and lunged towards the magician who was trying to creep out of the room unnoticed. Victor didn’t see what happened next but the magician let out a cry and fell to the floor, one hand clutching his chest where Victor took grim satisfaction from the blood welling between his fingers.

Still looking down at the body, his father said, “take Yuri to your mother, she will be beside herself with worry. You are not to blame yourself Victor, I should have never let the bastard enter our house.”

~

The years passed and Victor did come to regret the fact that he had not given in. What was so important about hair after all, as opposed to the life of your brother. It turned out that not only had the magician taken Yuri’s soulmark, but he had also cursed Yuri to change into an animal during the day. Yuri grew into an angry teenager, forgetting the events of that day and just remembering that it was somehow Victor’s fault that he had been cursed.

The family isolated themselves from society, worried about what might happen to Yuri if the curse was ever discovered, until Victor was 27, Yuri 15, and a King's messenger came to their estate. Their parents offered shelter to the stranger for the night, but he turned out to be the magician’s younger brother who had come to avenge his brother’s death.  Before his father could react he had bound them all with magic and Yuri knew no more.

~

When Yuri came to it was night and he was in the middle of a forest. He had no idea where he was. He searched all night but found no one and no paths. During the day the curse took hold and he was transformed into a stag. This had its advantages as Yuri now had an amazing sense of smell. He was able to retrace his movements throughout the night and come back to where he had awoken. From there his scent was faint, but he could find the general direction, which lead him to a wall of rock. Knowing that a stag would be useless for this he settled down for the rest of the day, to await the sunset.

The sun sank and gradually the wall of rock cooled. Yuri woke up in his human form and despite his growing hunger started pondering the wall. Maybe there was a hidden door? He got up and stepped forward. As he ran his fingers over the rock there was a strange vibration and he was thrown back several feet. His whole hand and arm was numb and began to tingle as the sensation came back.

From behind Yuri came a raucous laugh, “You think to break my power so quickly little boy.” The magician walked up to Yuri and grasping him by his neck with one hand, lifted him into the air so they were at eye level. Yuri’s hands scrabbled at the magician’s hand as he gasped for breath. “The next time you try to touch that wall, you die.” The magician threw Yuri to the ground away from the wall and walked towards him, casually twirling his cane. Yuri was drawing deep breaths and clutching his throat. “I couldn’t trap you in the curse because you’re cursed already, but I can stop you ever leaving the forest.”

“You bastard.  What have you done with my family?” Yuri rasped, twisting and writhing in the man's grip.

“Oh, they're very safe, nothing will happen to them.” He laughed again, this time a merry trill that chilled Yuri to the bone. He drew out a pocket watch, “my, my is that the time?” Winking at Yuri he casually walked away, whistling to himself. Yuri tried, oh how he tried to get up to follow him, to beat him into submission, but it was no use, the amount of running, his hunger, the stress of yesterday and being half strangled had caught up with him and he slumped down to his knees crying and beating his fists on the ground. Eventually, exhausted and emotionally dry from the events of the past days he fell asleep.

~

Yuri cursed. He couldn’t leave, so he couldn’t get help, he also couldn’t find anyone to help him build shelter. He spent the first few months cowering under a roof of branches, leaves and moss that he had put together, scraping food from the forest that was just enough to survive. If it hadn’t been for the curse and his ability as a stag to eat foods that a human couldn’t digest he would have died within weeks. In due course Yuri decided to build some form of house. It had taken him time to find materials for tools, time to work out how to live even. The number of times he had thrown his makeshift stone axe away screaming and cursing, only to have to go and retrieve it later and start again. He found uses for his maths lessons that he never knew he would need, when trying to work out how to lay the round wood beams for the roof. He found that the biology he had been taught was useful when he needed patch himself up. Honestly he was lucky that he hadn’t majorly injured himself doing this. His first night in the water and windproof hut was met with grim satisfaction. The months turned into years and Yuri became bitter and angrier, occasionally he would try to get to the edge of the forest, first as a human and then as the stag, but every time he was confused and ended up back at the hut. The magician occasionally came by to gloat and even when Yuri was an adult he still had no hope of beating the magician in a fight. No one came and he raged against the unfairness, until the day when someone did arrive.

The man at the door was shorter than Yuri by an inch or so. He was scruffy and dirty. Yuri viewed him with the contempt he deserved. He told him to go away, after so many years without anyone, except his cat and the occasional visits from the magician; Yuri couldn’t deal with an unknown stranger demanding help. But the man fell to his knees, begging and promising to help in any way he could. As he did so he dropped into a bowing posture with his hands out on the floor and Yuri gasped and stepped back. There on the back of his wrist was the exact same mark that his brother Victor had had on his. This had to be Victor’s soulmate. Coincidence? Yuri didn’t think so.

Yuri swore quietly under his breath. “Come in then, you can sleep here for a night.” He begrudgingly let the stranger enter.

“What’s your name?”

“Y...Yuuri.” The man quavered, huddling nearer the fire. Yuri’s mouth dropped open. What? Someone, somewhere was having a great joke at Yuri’s expense and with his life.

After watching this other Yuuri eat the stew Yuri had begrudgingly given him, Yuri told him that he would have to leave in the morning and that he didn’t need any help with anything. He left the stranger alone and settled himself for the night.

Yuri woke as usual before dawn; he always did and left the hut so he could be outside when the change came. He almost revelled in it these days; he was so much more powerful in his stag form; the years he had acquired as a human dropping away and he felt young again. As soon as he had changed he caught a strange smell. The magician! The smell wasn’t powerful to a human nose, just a subtle hint of soap and herbs, but to his stag form it was as if the magician was pounding drums to let people know his location. Yuri prepared himself and faced the direction the magician was coming from as he walked into the clearing. Something was different, normally he came to gloat and revel in Yuri’s misery, but this time he was cautious and upset. Of course, normally the magician only came after dark when Yuri was human and weak. Yuri lifted his head with its magnificent antlers and levelled a look at the strutting peacock walking into the clearing; maybe the magician wasn’t powerful enough to beat the stag. Yuri pawed at the ground and huffed with rage. He could do this; the evil bastard wouldn’t live to see the rest of the day. The magician heard the stamping of the stag’s hooves and looked over.  
  
“Well, well, well!” He grinned, “so you’re going to be a bit more of a challenge today. I look forward to beating you once again little boy.” Yuri screamed in rage, lowered his head and pounded towards the magician, who twirled his cane in front of himself and changed into a massive bull. They met head on with a tremendous clash, wrestled for a time with their horns and broke apart. They circled each other, carefully assessing each other across the clearing. Yuri waited, he had been practicing patience for 60 long years, and he wasn’t going to rush his opportunity now.

The door to the hut opened and Yuuri came out. It was enough to distract the bull for a moment, but that was all it took for Yuri to rush forward and impale the bull on his dagger sharp antlers. Ripping into the other animal, determined to have revenge for all the wrongs that had been done to him. When the bull lay dead on the ground he turned to Yuuri who was standing paralysed by the door. With blood dripping from his antlers he hoped he looked a suitably frightening sight. Narrowing his eyes he launched himself at the young man, who yelped and tried to run. Yuri carefully caught his clothes up in the branches of his antlers and tossing him lightly onto his back raced off into the forest towards the rock wall from so many years before. If he could not touch the wall (although with the magician dead, Yuri would have tried) then maybe this Yuuri could touch it. He was probably Victor’s soulmate after all. He came to a stop before the wall and Yuuri slid off his back into a heap.

The man just sat there hugging his knees and shaking, what was he doing? Yuri pawed the ground and snorted impatiently. There was no time to have a meltdown, this was important. Finally after much huffing on Yuri’s part the man got to his feet. Yuri glared at this other Yuuri, who was obviously not worthy of sharing his name and tossed his head towards the wall of rock.

“I don’t understand, what do you need me to do?” Yuri huffed again and gently took the arm with the soulmark on it in his antlers and pulled the man’s hand towards the wall. When the wall collapsed the stupid man was still just standing there. Yuri nudged him with his nose and pushed him towards the cavern. The man turned around and said angrily.

“Okay, Okay, I get it. You want me to go in.” Yuri huffed yet again and pawed the ground with one enormous hoof.  “It’s not that simple. I have anxiety and I’m barely functioning as it is. Let me recover or I won’t go in at all.” Yuri blinked in surprise, but stepped away, frustratingly realising that pressurising the young man wasn’t going to help. The man let out a sigh and sank down to his knees breathing heavily.

“I can do this. I can do this,” he said. “This is what I came here for. I can do this.”  He got to his feet and looked back at the stag, “Okay, I can go now, I’m not sure whether to thank you or not, so I’ll just say goodbye.”  Yuri would have screamed in frustration if he could, but just snorted and nudged Yuuri forward again. Finally the annoying man turned, ran his fingers through his hair and walked into the cavern.

~

Months had passed since Yuuri broke Victor’s curse, and Victor had restored Yuri’s youth but Yuri was still cursed during the day. Yuri tried, he really did. He had been 60 years without a decent conversation. Did talking to a cat count? Probably not. He found that the affection of his parents, the visiting simpering nobles who had all come to gawk at the family and the cloying affection between Yuuri and Victor were just too much to bear. He snapped at people more often than not. He was prone to violent outbursts where he would run away from the people as fast as possible and end up in the gymnasium like room that Victor had installed to try to help, beating the living daylights out of the bag suspended from the ceiling. He stayed until after the wedding; until Victor and Yuuri had left on their honeymoon and then hugged and kissed his parents and left. They had persuaded him not to go far, to stay within reach of the estate so that they could at least see him and give him supplies, but they didn’t understand. For them the imprisonment had passed in the blink of an eye. They were still trying to catch up with the new technology and science that had been developed in the years they had been locked away. All of it was new to Yuri too, but he didn’t care, for him it had been 60 long years of loneliness and he couldn’t get over it. Young once again, but still cursed, he decided to go back to the hut and be at peace, what he didn’t take into account was that the forest was no longer isolated, no longer inaccessible.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Otabek arrives next chapter. I feel so sorry to do this to Yuri, but he got revenge on the magician in a fitting way and there will be a happy ending.
> 
> I cannot begin to convey how much I hate the fairy tale style of writing from a writer's perspective and you may notice that this story is significantly less 'fairy-tale style' than the first and I'm much happier with it as a result.
> 
> Kudos to you if you work out who I was basing the creepy magician on and talking of kudos, you would really make my day if you could give me some, it means so much and I'm walking on air if I receive a comment.


	2. The Huntsman

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The forest is now open to all and Yuri has moved back to his hut, hiding away from everyone, but the people are now hearing about the Stag and Yuri's quiet life is about to be disturbed.

The young huntsman had been hearing about the stag in the forest for a few years now. They called it the King of the Forest and stories were told in the bars by drunken hunters, of its size, its magnificent set of antlers, and its beauty. No huntsman had managed to get near enough to get a clear shot, but the King of the Forest was becoming known far and wide, and huntsmen were starting to come from further and further away to try their hand at hunting the stag. No one had been successful. And although the young huntsman, whose name was Otabek, had never been in need or want, his hard-working parents had very little money. Despite this, Otabek was determined to lift his family out of poverty. He had set off from his home a few days earlier with the bow he had dedicated himself to crafting, to seek this legendary animal and make his fortune.

~

Otabek finally reached the edge of the forest a few days later, as it was growing dark. In recent years people had made a new road through the previously impenetrable growth. At the place where the forest ended and the farming country began stood an inn. The inn nestled amongst Cherry trees, their blossoms bright pink against the white walls of the building. Otabek decided to use his meager savings to pay for one night’s stay before entering the forest. Pushing open the door he found a brightly lit space where a musician was playing a harp near a gentle fire, which took off the slight chill off the spring air. As he walked forwards into the room he was greeted by a cheery voice that rose above the low level chatter of the patrons.

“Welcome, welcome, how may we help you?” The innkeeper was a cheerful man in his 50s; Otabek instinctively liked him on sight. “Katsuki Toshiya at your service.”

“I would like a room for the night and a hot meal if you have any food available.”

“Of course, my wife is an excellent cook. Take a seat and I’ll bring some stew right out.” The Innkeeper bustled off to the kitchen and Otabek found a table in a back corner, settling back to listen to some of the conversation around him.

“I tell you, it were as big as this room.” An old man gestured widely with his hands.

“Nah, you’re delusional. Ain’t no stag ever got to that soize.” His drinking companion replied.

“He were standin’ there all magnificent like an’ I thought to myself. Cor, Ah been ‘unting for years and I never seen anything loike tha’”

“Yer just ‘ad too much ter drink the noight before, yer delusional oi say again.” But the old man was now snoring with his head on the table and couldn’t reply. Otabek would have rolled his eyes, but frankly the effort wasn’t worth it.

The innkeeper spotted Otabek and came over with the stew and some beer. He gave a sidelong glance towards the couple of drunkards and grimaced.

“Thank you,” Otabek nodded towards the two old men. “They were talking about the legendary stag in the forest. Is it really as big as they said?”

“Ah,” the innkeeper eyed Otabek’s large bow which was propped up against the wall behind him, “are you a huntsman?”

“Yes, I’ve come here to track down the stag. My family need money and I want to build my renown so that when I go home I can apply to be a huntsman for the king.” Otabek’s face was stern and resolute.

“Do you mind?” The innkeeper gestured that he wanted to sit down.

“No, I’d be grateful for any information.”

“It’s a long story, but I’ll summarise as best I can. My son went off adventuring into the forest a few years ago, before the road was built. He actually met the stag and in the process broke the curse that had prevented people from exploring the forest before.” The innkeeper smiled at the memories. “He found his soulmate, and together they built the road to make the journey safer for all. The stag was part of that curse, but that’s where it becomes complicated. My son made it plain that no one should hunt the stag, but he never explained why not, although it seems that there’s another curse at play. Of course, because there was no explanation, no one listened and they still come to hunt the stag. But, if you are found to be hunting in the forest by the Duke’s men then they will not be friendly. More than one hunter has been sent back with their tail between their legs after being found. I just thought you deserved a warning, being the polite young man you seem to be.” The innkeeper got up, nodded to Otabek and walked back the bar.

Otabek turned his attention to his meal thinking carefully about the innkeeper’s story. It looked like this quest could be even more interesting than he had thought. His determination to just catch a glimpse of the stag rose even higher, especially after the conversation he had overheard between the two old men. Another curse? Maybe, just maybe there was a different way to win renown? He spent all evening mulling over the problem.

The next morning was dull and the rain was the sort of light rain that managed to get into every crevice of your clothes. Otabek carefully wrapped his bow in waterproof cloth and resolved to just attempt to find the stag for now. He could decide what to do once that task had been accomplished. He thanked the innkeeper and his wife and reassured them that the story had made him very thoughtful, but he still wanted to at least see the magnificent animal. Squaring his shoulders he stepped out into the dismal weather.

~

Days passed. Otabek had resorted to dividing his map up into sections and trying to thoroughly search each area. The weather had not improved, making it extremely difficult to track anything in the dampness. He was tired and grumpy, with his supplies running low. He knew he would have to give up and head back to the inn and hoped that the innkeeper would exchange a decent night’s rest and a meal for a brace or two of game animals.

As the darkness began to creep over the trees he caught the glimmer of a light shining faintly in the distance, there were no buildings marked on the map so, despite his tiredness, Otabek became curious. With nothing to lose he headed for the light source, hoping it would be a house and he could beg for shelter.

It was a small hut. No one seemed to be about, but a light shone through the small window. Walking up to the door Otabek knocked.

“Go away!” A male voice shouted from inside.

“I wanted to ask for shelter for the night, in return I can give you the proceeds of my hunt.” Otabek waited a few minutes. The door was violently pulled open and Otabek looked into a pair of piercing green eyes in an angry face framed by blonde hair. The young man’s eyes flicked to the bow slung across his back and then to his face.

“A hunter, just what I need.” The tall blonde crossed his arms and frowned down at Otabek radiating rage.  Otabek absent-mindedly scratched at the soul mark on his hand, which had become irritated. The man’s eyes followed his movements, widening slightly as they saw the geometrical mark.

“I apologise.” Otabek was surprised to find that he was slightly intimidated by the tall young man standing in front of him. “I will go and seek shelter elsewhere.” Otabek made to back away, but the young man held out a hand.

“Wait! Make me a deal and you can stay.” Otabek thought for a second. The young man had almost elfin features and was talking about deals, but Otabek didn’t think that creatures from the fairy realm would be this tall.

“What kind of deal are you talking about?” He said cautiously. The man raised his eyebrows and then laughed.

“Ha! You’re far too superstitious. In exchange for a night’s rest and a meal, I want you to promise that you won’t hunt in the forest anymore, that you’ll leave in the morning and not return.” Otabek debated for a minute and then decided that it was worth the deal, maybe he could get information from the handsome man about the stag, and there would still be hope to see the stag on his way out of the forest. By his calculations this hut was in the exact centre of the forest, so he had plenty of opportunity to still at least see the creature.

“Very well. I agree to your terms. My name is Otabek.”

“I’m Yuri,” he said. Otabek was shown a bed in the corner of the room, “put your things over there and you can dry the wet stuff off by the fire overnight. You’re lucky I already made a stew so you can share with me.”

The stew was delicious and the bread fresh. Otabek was puzzled; there was no sign of a vegetable garden near the hut or a baker’s oven. He wasn’t sure he was going to get anywhere with Yuri being so hostile, but he sighed to himself and thought that he might as well start asking questions now and rested his spoon on the edge of the bowl.

“This meal is amazing, thank you.” Yuri nodded and carried on eating. “May I ask how you made the bread, it doesn’t appear that you have a bread oven?”

“My brother sends a parcel of food over every day. He’s well meaning but annoying, him and his husband.” Yuri commented grumpily.

“Is there anyone else living here?” Otabek wondered if the other person who must be around somewhere was his soulmate, there was no other explanation for the reaction his mark was having.

“No. I live on my own,” Yuri glowered at Otabek, “and I prefer it that way.”  Otabek thought that he had better ask about his original purpose in coming to the forest before his other questions annoyed Yuri too much.

“I’m sorry, but I have one more question.” Yuri just grunted. “I originally came to the forest to hunt the stag known as the King of the Forest.” Yuri snorted in contempt.

“The deal was no hunting.” Yuri growled.

“Yes, I did agree. But,” Otabek held out a pacifying hand, “I agreed because I stopped for a night at the inn at the edge of the forest and the innkeeper told me a story about his son. He mentioned the possibility that there still could be a curse at work in the forest. The reason I came to the forest was to make a name for myself so I could support my family, and before I had even entered the forest I had decided not to try to kill the stag, I just wanted to see it, to see if it was as magnificent as the stories said. I decided to try to find out about the curse as well. Until now I haven’t had any luck. Do you know anything about it?”

Yuri narrowed his eyes and sat back in his chair. “I may. I’m not sure I feel inclined to tell you though.” Otabek sighed in disappointment.

Yuri looked at him for a while and suddenly leaned forward. “I can give you this. Go back to the inn, tell Toshiya that I sent you and that I said you could stay for a week for free. I’ll come by and give you some answers when you’re out of the forest. Is that enough for you?”

Otabek wasn’t convinced that this Yuri wasn’t trying to just get rid of him, but a few crumbs would be better than nothing. He nodded his agreement, frowning in frustration.

~

Putting on dry clothes in the morning was a great feeling, it made up for the terrible night’s sleep Otabek had had. On his wrist, the soulmark had been burning and itching all night.  If he hadn’t taken a good look at Yuri’s wrists during the meal last night to find nothing there, he would be thinking that Yuri, grumpy as he was, was his soulmate. He resigned himself to the situation; at least he should get a week at the inn to work it all out. Yuri was not in the hut, but there was a note on the table with some travelling rations.

_The deal stands, take your things, leave the forest and wait at the inn._

Otabek pondered the note as he gathered his things together, wondering why Yuri was behaving in such a strange manner, and left. The weather had finally turned for the better and the sun was struggling to shine through the light cloud cover. He looked around the clearing and wondered where Yuri had gone. He shrugged to himself and set off in the general direction of the inn. The journey would take a couple of days and he had few supplies to waste, especially now he had promised not to hunt in the forest.

Throughout the first day his hunter’s senses were on alert and there was an uncomfortable feeling as if someone was watching him, but he could detect nothing. The soulmark on his wrist was still irritated and burning, which gave him another bad night’s sleep. The next day he wondered if he could somehow trick the person following him into revealing themselves, it must be his soulmate, there was no other possible explanation. He changed direction so that the breeze blowing through the trees was blowing towards his back, if they were using scent to follow him it would be much harder. Looking ahead, the small path he was following, probably caused by deer, turned around a rock outcropping and disappeared out of sight. Careful not to arouse any suspicions he carried on at the same pace as before until he turned the corner. He then took a quick look and broke into a run along the bottom of the outcrop. He found a convenient place as fast as possible and began to climb up the rock, reaching a ledge and hiding himself as best he could on the ledge. Then he waited, watching the corner, trying to get his breathing back under control.

Otabek heard the faintest noise and slowed his breathing.  He watched the corner intently ready to take action, but the first thing he saw were the sharp edges of antlers.  Higher than any he had seen before. Otabek couldn’t believe his eyes. The stag was every bit as large and beautiful as they had described. The old man in the inn had not been exaggerating when he described the size of the beast’s antlers. It looked around and then straight up at where Otabek had unsuccessfully tried to hide. Unfortunately, in his amazement, Otabek was not paying attention to his positioning on the ledge and the shock of being located so quickly caused him to move and lose his grip. Sliding ignominiously down the rocky face, he landed in a heap on the floor; palms stinging and knees scraped. He lay there panting for a few seconds trying to recover from the fall. Beside him there was a soft step and he opened his eyes to see an enormous hoof in front of him. Scrambling backwards he put his back against the rocky wall and watched to see what the animal would do next.  

The stag was gazing down at him steadily; it’s green eyes shining unnaturally. Hold on, green eyes? Deer did not have green eyes. There did not seem to be any immediate danger, so Otabek spread his hands wide and slowly climbed to his feet.

“I mean no harm. I made a promise.” The stag huffed, not looking away for one second. Otabek looked at his furiously itching wrist and back up to the stag. Acting on some strange impulse, he moved his hand slowly towards the unmoving stag. He hesitated before placing his hand on the stag’s neck. The burning intensified until it was almost painful as sparks flew from his wrist onto the stag. The green sparks multiplied and spread, Otabek went to remove his hand but found that he couldn’t. Neither of them could apparently move and the sparks continued to multiply until the stag appeared to be one green glow, Otabek shut his eyes until the glow had died down. He could feel the difference through the hand that had been resting on the neck of the stag, but it was no longer furry and large. Otabek opened his eyes and looked up to find Yuri staring back at him with a huge grin on his face. Otabek removed his hand from Yuri’s neck as if he had been stung.

“I thought it might be you. I saw the mark on your wrist and remembered the mark my brother had drawn for me many years ago when I asked him if I had ever had a soulmark. My mark was stolen from me when I was 4, the same day I was cursed.” Yuri looked down at his wrist where a similar mark was now imprinted. “It looks like you broke the curse.” Otabek was still silently trying to absorb the last few minutes and Yuri shifted awkwardly. “Look, we might be soulmates, but what I need right now is a friend. I’ve never been able to have a friend before.”

“I would be honoured to be your friend. I too could do with a friend.” Otabek reached out his hand and they shook solemnly, until Yuri’s face broke out into another grin and he punched Otabek on the shoulder.

“I’m sorry.” Yuri was flustered and awkwardly patted Otabek’s shoulder where he had punched it.  Otabek struggled not to laugh. “I’m just so happy!” Yuri’s face changed into a mix of happiness and anger. “That magician and his brother. He ran his fingers through his blonde hair. “Ahhhh! Come on it’s quite a way back to the hut, you can come, and I bet you have a lot of questions. Tomorrow I’ll need to set out for my brother’s mansion on the other side of the forest, he deserves to know that the curse has been broken before hearing it second-hand. If you like, you’d be welcome to come too, as a friend you know?”

“I’d be honoured.” Otabek replied.

It took them nearly a week of leisurely travelling before they reached the mansion. Discussions varied from their ages - Otabek nearly tripped over his own feet when Yuri told him that he was around 80 years old, despite appearances - to the story of how Yuri defeated the second magician and Yuuri rescued his brother. As they reached the cliff at the end of the forest and followed the narrow cleft in the cliff face down, Otabek could see the large house and stunning gardens laid out before them. The scene was awe-inspiring and as Yuri began to walk faster, Otabek began to hang back. Eventually Yuri turned and seeing Otabek a distance behind, stopped.

“What’s wrong?”

“I didn’t realise that your family was this wealthy. I don’t belong here.”

“What?” Yuri walked back to where Otabek was standing looking at the mansion before him. “Why would you say that?”

“Yuri. I’m poor and my family is poor.  I have never set foot in a place like this.  I am a hunter not a noble. I won’t fit in.”

“Otabek. You are politer than I am, and what makes you think I’m suited for the life of a noble.  I lived in a forest for 60 years on my own.”  Yuri gave a short bark of laughter tinged with sadness. “Why do you think I was living in the hut when you met me?  Because I couldn’t stand living in a place like this either, not after all those years.  And anyway, my brother married a commoner – the son of the innkeeper you met!”  Yuri grinned at Otabek’s look of surprise. “Those two saps will just be happy that I’ve found a friend, they’ll welcome you with open arms.

Swallowing down his feelings, Otabek nodded. “Ok. Lead on then.”

 

Yuri reached down and to Otabek’s surprise grabbed his hand and tugged him forward. Within minutes they had arrived at the imposing wooden gates. The guard at the gate saw Yuri and his jaw dropped.

“My Lord!” Otabek’s jaw dropped again.

“Long time no see, Harold. Are you going to let me in?” Yuri’s voice was tinged with impatience.

“Of course, your lordship. Your brother and his husband are at home, but your parents are on a visit to court.” The guard flung open the door built into the gate and Yuri tugged Otabek through.

“You’re a Lord?” Otabek’s voice was unsteady.

“Yeah. My parents are the Duke and Duchess so I’m a Lord. What does it matter?” Yuri was walking quickly around the house to the back.

“It matters because I’m a commoner.” Yuri carried on pulled Otabek forward.

“Look, my family basically disappeared off the face of the earth for 60 years, and could never admit that their second son,” he banged his chest with his fist, “was cursed, so don’t give me any nonsense about not being worthy.” Otabek couldn’t help a small smile crossing his face at Yuri’s vehemence. But his face soon became serious again when he saw two people sitting at a table outside on the raised terrace. One was tall with long silver hair and the other slightly shorter with messy black hair. They knew they had been spotted when the silver haired man, stood up violently, knocking the table and sending the tea service on it crashing to the floor.

“Yuri? Oh my God, Yuri!” The tall silver haired man who Otabek now realised was Victor strode down the steps to meet them and pulled Yuri into a tight hug. He let go when Yuri protested and stepped back still holding on to Yuri’s shoulders. Yuri’s face was an interesting mix of anger, embarrassment and fondness. “You’re here. How? It’s daylight.” Victor looked down and saw the new mark at Yuri’s wrist and then looked at Otabek who showed his own wrist, which bore the same mark. Otabek could see tears in Victor’s eyes. “If only we’d known that meeting your soulmate would break the curse.”

“Yes, well, no one thinks around here do they. If one of us could have been logical, then we might have realised that the only reason Yuuri was allowed into the forest and was able to break the curse was because he was your soulmate. Not because he was just lucky and the logical thing to realise then would be that the same might be true for me.” Yuri poured out all his emotion into that short speech. Otabek saw that the dark haired man, who must be Yuuri, had come up to them. As Yuri drew in a deep breath, Yuuri placed a hand on Yuri’s shoulder and pulled him in for a hug. At that point Yuri seemed to collapse on himself and sobbed into Yuuri’s shoulder.

Yuri’s recovery was a long and slow process; he frequently lost his temper and lashed out at everybody. Victor bore the brunt of Yuri’s anger and Yuuri took the grief. Otabek was sometimes left wondering if he should leave, but in Yuri’s calmer times he would seek out Otabek and they would play chess and talk. Otabek was aware that Yuri and he were getting closer and was also aware that his feelings for the tall blond man were growing into a lot more than friendship. He knew that until Yuri came to him there was nothing he could do apart from being there for Yuri to anchor himself to.

~

The day finally came when they were playing chess and Yuri had just beaten Otabek for the first time. He was leaning over the board staring at the pieces intently, one move with his Queen and Otabek knew it was all over.

“Checkmate!” Yuri grinned, pushed his hair back with both hands and then stretched his fists to the ceiling in victory. Otabek leaned back in his chair and absorbed Yuri’s joy. “You just wait, Beka, you’ll never win again!”

Otabek just grinned in response.

“Come on! The idiots need to hear about this! I defeated the mighty huntsman in a battle to the death!” Yuri stood and held out his hand for Otabek to take, he missed Otabek’s look of shock at the casual mention of how they met, which was quickly replaced by the grin Otabek had on his face before. He casually stood and took Yuri’s hand as if it was nothing, but the electric feel of his soulmate’s touch was felt to his core. He could tell that Yuri felt it too.

“Beka?” Yuri said looking Otabek in the face with a look of shock

“Yuri.” Otabek replied in his low controlled voice.

“I…” Yuri looked away and swallowed. “I’ve been thinking. About us.”

“Yuri,” Otabek interrupted, “you don’t have to say anything. You’ve not been ready.  I’m prepared to wait as long as you need to work through what you’ve been through.”  Otabek cleared his throat; it had grown strangely tight. “I think I should tell you that…that I have come to regard you as more than a friend.  Much more than a friend and I’m ready to take this further when you are.”  Otabek looked at Yuri cautiously.  Had he ruined their relationship?

Yuri’s face was shocked, his mouth hanging open and suddenly he launched himself at Otabek, holding him tight and talking into the top of Otabek’s head.

“Yes! Yes! I’ve felt this way for days and I didn’t know how or when to say anything.  I thought that you were just feeling obliged to stay here out of some sort of,” Yuri waved his arms vaguely, “politeness thing. I’m not very good at reading people yet.”

Otabek extracted himself with difficulty from Yuri’s arms and raised a hand to his face.  “Yuri, you are one of the most intelligent, clever and dedicated people I have come across. I admire you deeply and hope that one day you might feel the same way.”

“I do, Beka. I do.”  Yuri looked down at the serious man who had stumbled into his miserable existence and turned it upside down and inside out and smiled the first smile of true happiness in 65 years.

~

Yuri and Otabek built a smaller house in a remote part of the estate, resisting Victor’s best efforts to inundate them with advice and furniture, where they lived, happily, quietly, ever after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this story. I am so much happier with this chapter than with the others and it's here thanks to the fantastic beta efforts of [imaginary_dragonling](https://archiveofourown.org/users/imaginary_dragonling/pseuds/imaginary_dragonling).
> 
> One day (in the not too distant future I'm going to rewrite these two stories and put them all into one timeline, and completely abandon the fairy-tale style.
> 
> I would be very grateful for a kudos and would love a comment ;) and I am open to constructive criticism. Either here or come and find me on tumblr [@narcissuspseudonarcissus](https://narcissuspseudonarcissus.tumblr.com/)


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